BIH – Name Change Proposed

Birmingham International Holdings today made an announcement to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong to confirm that they are proposing to change the name of the company. The proposal will require the approval of shareholders at an EGM.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

I have to say I’m quite intrigued by the announcement that BIH is proposing to change its name to “Birmingham Sports Holdings Ltd”. Although it was met by the predictable comments about this having zero effect on Blues’ current form, it would appear to be further evidence that Paul Suen and TTA have a longer term plan in place for the club.

To quote the announcement:

The Board considers that the Change of Company Name will better reflect the current status of the Group’s business and its direction of future development. The Board believes that the new name can provide the Company with a more appropriate corporate image and identity which will benefit the Company’s future business development and is in the best interests of the Company and the Shareholders as a whole.

I’d always assumed that Suen, once he’d taken the company on for a while would look to bring in another company as a diversification and then to hive BCFC off to the highest bidder.

This announcement seems to confirm he’s planning to do the exact opposite – that he is looking to build the name and to develop the company further in the sports sphere. Whether that truly is the case remains to be seen but this is another step in the normal Suen modus operandi when he takes over a listed company.

I’ve intimated on messageboards in recent times that I’m not 100% positive that Blues’ league position is the be all and end all to Suen. If he is to make a success of Blues then it makes sense to develop all potential revenue streams possible.

How he does this I’m still not entirely sure, but having looked at some of our past owners (and I’m not referring to Carson) it would appear that if you’re in the right place at the right time it is possible to profit from external decisions.

Needless to say, the name change isn’t in place until there is an EGM – and there is no date for an EGM proposed yet; when it is announced I’ll talk further on the subject.

Will a football club holding company by any other name win more games? Let’s hope so.